A Girl and Her Alligator

by BurningMockingJay

Rating: teen
Tags: Rainbow Dash (EqG), Gummy, Profanity, Equestria Girls, Violence, Slice of Life, Dark, Sad, Other, Pinkie Pie (EqG)
Length: 11870

After not attending school for an entire week, Rainbow Dash sets out to find out why Pinkie Pie hasn't been coming and why she hasn't spoken to any of them. The truth horrifies her.

Shortly after her father had landed a demanding and stressful business job, Pinkie Pie has not attended Canterlot High for almost an entire week. She hasn't kept in contact with her friends and she insisted that she was fine. However, when Rainbow Dash tries to find out what has been causing the usually-bubbly girl to skip school, something that she would never do, she finds out a horrifying truth that both shocks her and terrifies her.

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Featured - 25 / 01 / 2019
26 / 01 / 2019

Published 2019-01-25 15:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-01-25 15:00:01 UTC

A Girl and Her Alligator

Author's Note

Alright, here we go!

I haven't written a story like this in a very long time, so I'm hoping that I've still got it with the darker tales! It's a little out of what I normally go for, but I figured it would be nice to write something shorter for a change rather than a novel-length story. Anywho, I sincerely hope that you all enjoy this one!

Also, this particular story includes a little bit of PinkieDash, so be warned: you may get the fuzzies!

Oh, and for you fans out there of Brandon Lee's The Crow, can you spot the reference to the film near the end of the story?

A Girl and Her Alligator

A Girl and Her Alligator

By FireRain

*** *** ***

Pinkie Pie sat with her legs crossed on the edge of her windowsill, facing out of the large open window located in her bedroom that peered out into the dark street outside.

There was a gentle patter of rain lightly making contact with the pavement as it wet the asphalt road and pathway outside of her house, and some of the rain even managed to touch against her bare skin from where she was sat. It was cold, sure, but it was also very welcome to the young girl. She had always liked to watch the rain. She found it soothing and therapeutic.

Pinkie didn't know why she liked the rain so much or why she found it so intriguing, but even as a child, she enjoyed to watch it whenever a downpour was cast by the weather reports.

The time had long since become late, and the clock on her wooden nightstand read 2:00 AM. She didn't care, though. Sooner or later, she would fall asleep as she was watching the rain fall to the ground. She always did.

There was also a little bit of a cold breeze drifting through the early spring air, and it made Pinkie shiver a little in her black sleeveless shirt and black cotton joggers. However, she didn't care enough to shut the window a little to retain her warmth. She was far beyond warm, so what difference would it make?

Today, it was another school day, like usual. She hadn't minded much about school or her studies lately. In fact, Pinkie Pie hadn't been to school in almost an entire week. She likely wouldn't go today, either. She had spent almost every night and early morning watching the rain until it came to a stop, and the rain had been due to pour down until next week.

Rainbow Dash had even gone as far to text the girl to see where she was and to see if she was feeling alright. It made Pinkie feel a little warm to know that her friends cared enough to text her to ask about her wellbeing, and even though she wanted to say 'I'm fine', she couldn't bring herself to do it. That would have made Pinkie a liar, and she wasn't a liar. Her Dad had taught her better than that.

The next day, it was Applejack who had texted her to ask her the same question Rainbow had asked. Next, it was Fluttershy, then it was Twilight, then it was Rarity and then it was Sunset Shimmer. Of course, Pinkie had texted them all the same answer, telling them not to worry and that she felt fine. However, regardless of what she had said, it made her feel ashamed that she wasn't being truthful.

It had started roughly a week ago, just days before Pinkie stopped going to school and also avoided making any contact with her best and closest friends.

Pinkie had started to feel...less bubbly than usual. Pinkie had began to wake up with raging migranes among the likes she had never experienced before. They left her feeling tired and drained of energy. She even began to feel more restless. Like right now, she was having trouble sleeping, and she wouldn't get up in the morning because she would sleep during daylight hours rather than night hours. To sum it up, Pinkie felt...sad.

She didn't feel ill, not like the last time when she missed school when she had a case of the flu, but simply fatigued. She didn't have the slightest clue why it had started happening to her or why she felt this way all the time. It was like a disease without any cure to purge her body of the pathogen. Last night, Pinkie had even felt so bad from the migraines that she had vomited into the toilet for almost a full half hour!

Pinkie slumped slightly against the windowsill, her head sulking downwards and her hair dragging down over her right shoulder in reflection of her current mood. As the wind blew, it gently caused her hair to whisp around in the breeze it conjured, her paled pink strands of hair tickling her exposed skin on her arm. She paid no mind to it. In fact, she hardly even felt it at all, and even if she did, she still wouldn't care enough to stop it from happening.

Beside her white-socked foot, Pinkie's smartphone dinged and the screen lit up as the phone vibrated.

Probably another text from one of my friends, She thought, her eyes slowly rolling down towards the item. Reaching for the phone, she picked it up and unlocked the screen to see who had texted her. Sure enough, the sender's name read out as Rainbow Dash.
Yep, Pinkie thought. Thought as much.

The message read, How are you feeling, Pinkie? Me and the others are getting worried about you. You won't return our calls and we haven't seen you in almost an entire week! We just want to know if you're okay and if something's wrong. Maybe we'll see you at school today?

Pinkie put down the phone and frowned. She brushed back the hair from her arm so that it was now drooping down the back of her neck and out of reach from the breeze coming in through the window, and she slumped back even further in her seat.

''Ow! Gummy!'' Pinkie squirmed as she flinched from a small amount of pain running up her finger. She looked down to the little green alligator sat comfortably between her arms with a soft scowl of disapproval. Her finger was a little red from where he had bitten her, but he wasn't capable of causing her any real harm. Otherwise, she knew that the bite would have been pretty nasty. ''What'd you do that for?'' She asked.

One of Gummy's eyelids lazily slid down over one of his large, reptilian purple eyes in a one-eye blink. As it rolled back up, his forked tongue hissed silently from between his scaly lips before he reeled it back in.

''But you know I can't,'' Pinkie said sadly, her blue eyes shimmering. ''I don't think it'll make any difference if I did,'' Pinkie said.
Gummy repeated the same gesture, but with his other eye.

''Yeah, but I don't know what my parents will do to me if they find out, so how can I tell my friends?''

Gummy tilted his head and his tongue lolled out of his mouth again.

''Maybe,'' Pinkie said thoughtfully, looking down at her beloved pet with a soft smile, but it disappeared almost as soon as it had appeared. ''But what if my friends don't understand?''

Gummy's eyes blinked simultaneously and he looked straight into Pinkie's eyes. Pinkie looked straight back before she pursed her lips and held back a frown.

''I suppose you're right, Gummy,'' She said, reaching down a hand and touching the baby alligator's back, giving it a small rub down over his underdeveloped scales. He wagged his tail as if he were a dog, as if enjoying the display of affection. ''I think I'll go to school and talk to them,'' She said, right before she patted Gummy's head. ''I love you, Gummy. I don't know what I'd do without you.''

Gummy wagged his tail.

*** *** ***

Pinkie Pie had only had about a couple hours' worth of sleep before getting herself ready to go to school. She had retired to her bed at about twenty-five to four in the morning, reluctantly clambering her way out of bed at six to prepare herself to meet with her friends.

The last place that Pinkie wanted to be was at school, not because she hated Canterlot High, but rather because it would put her in the direct spotlight of everyone's eager and prying eyes. She knew literally everyone and they all knew her in turn, and in her absence, for her to suddenly come back, she knew that she would be asked why she hasn't attended.

The thought alone made her not want to leave the warm and comfortable cocoon of her bed sheets and the security that her bedroom walls provided for her, her best friend. (Aside from Gummy, of course.)

She had gone to get a warm shower, like she would every morning. Her parents were not up yet at this time, but they never seemed to hear her when she left her room to head towards the bathroom down the hall. They were always the last up.

At first, Pinkie didn't really want to get a shower, not feeling like making much of an effort in order to make herself look presentable for her return. In the end, she caved in to her persistent thoughts and forced herself into the shower after getting herself undressed.

The water wasn't too hot or too cold for her, but rather somewhere inbetween. Usually, she would have it hot and take the time to lose herself in the bliss it provided, savouring every last drop that kissed her skin and slid down her body from her head to her toes, but, this time, she didn't much care.

She washed her hair and gave it a good rinse. She hated to admit the pleasure to herself that she received from the water running over her body, but she found herself to find some sense of relaxation from it. It was as if the water peeled off a layer of her funk and rejuvenated her sense of feeling once more.

Surprisingly, the water running over her head didn't make the migraine still ringing around in her skull to intensify, but rather soothe it, as if massaging the aches in her synapses. In fact, after stepping out of the shower, she felt a little bit better, almost as if she had the strength to gain the willpower to step out of the front door.

She stared at herself for a long, long time in the mirror after she had gotten out of the shower. She looked into her own blue eyes, only noticing now how pale they appeared. They looked more like pale pastels or blue-stained terracotta. Her hair was faring no better. Instead of that lively, almost-neon pink fuzzball that it used to be, its vibrant glow was paled to the point where it was like a spoiled wad of candyfloss, drooping and straight.

Moving her eyes down her body, Pinkie's eyes looked at her flat stomach and sleek sides. They were covered in marks and small black and blue bruises, only a few days old but looking fresh and shiny on her pale skin. They were so deep in colour that they resembled freshly squashed plums and blackcurrants. Touching one with the lightest poke of her finger, Pinkie squirmed and sucked in a breath between her teeth, reeling from the sting it brought.

This was why she hadn't been to school. This was why she didn't want to be seen or spoken to. This was why she stuck to the darkness like her life depended on it, hiding herself away like a little, minute hermit crab that couldn't live in the glare of the morning sun.

Each time she moved, she felt them ache and cry out in pain, but she learned to hold back her agony over time. She recalled how badly her lungs stung when she got kicked in her chest area and how her developing breasts had stung afterwards, like a fresh wound being introduced to lemon juice or vinegar. It felt like a fire was burning her alive from the inside out, and she was only biding her time before she melted down into a pile of smouldering, pink-stained ash.

Mostly, the bruises and scuff marks to her skin where she had been grazed resided underneath her ribs. They were by far the worst and they hurt whenever Pinkie bent her body in any way, and that made her life a living hell. It didn't hurt as much as it did at the moment as opposed to when it first happened, but it was still able to be felt through her abused muscles.

She looked at her left arm, seeing how it had a bruise high up by the elbow, an ugly and yellow-coloured patch of skin. It didn't hurt to the point where it took her breath away, but when she accidentally nudged it against something or put too much pressure on it, she'd know about it.

One of Pinkie's hands raised itself upwards and touched her elbow, giving it a light rub. As she did so, she felt her nerve endings give a slight warning, as if in protest, against the weight of her palm upon the bruise. Looking back into the mirror to see herself, she looked blankly into her own eyes, seeing that they were glistening with tears, her left eye leaking a single bell-bottomed tear that rolled down her cold cheek.

Pinkie Pie gave a soft whimper but kept her mouth shut to suppress a sob that would inadvertently waken her parents, and that was something that she really didn't want. And so, she held back her pain like she had taught herself.

She cried silently to herself for a few minutes before there was a loud pounding rumbling through the thin bathroom door, and Pinkie's heart fluttered with a heavy panic, and she muttered something under her breath.

''Pinkamena Diane Pie!'' The voice of her father called gruffly from the other side of the door. ''Silence that blithering racket this instant!'' He said, and Pinkie heard his feet drag away from the door, audible on the wooden flooring outside as they disappeared back towards where his room was. All the while, he was grumbling angrily underneath his breath.

Pinkie Pie was shaking as she looked at herself in the mirror, her skin vibrating as if there was an army of ants crawling every which way beneath her epidermis. Her father scared her more than anything. He wasn't an evil man, but he wasn't a good one, either. Pinkie's mother, on the other hand, wasn't the same as her husband.

Her mother was nowhere near as barbaric or as brutish as her father. In fact, her mother was quite the opposite. She had been there to defend Pinkie in the beginning, but when she wasn't around, that was when all hell broke loose. Ever since the first incident, Pinkie has learned to lock her door at night, and her mother learned the same lesson.

Her mother was the only parent she had that she cared about, and she was always there for her in her time of need, but it was not without its own consequences. Pinkie could recall one morning when she came out of her room for breakfast before heading out to school, only to witness her mother sat at the table on her own as she was eating Magic Unicorn cereal, one of her eyes half-swelled with a plum-coloured shiner.

That was the day before things got incredibly ugly and out of her control. She remembered being angry at her father for what he had done to her mother, and even then, it hurt to know that a supposedly-loyal husband could strike his own wife. It hurt even more to know that he had no problem with hurting the children he has had with said wife.

Pinkie Pie slowly dressed herself in the bathroom, and after hooking up her bra and slipping on a fresh pair of undies, she slipped her legs one-by-one into a pair of blue jeans to hide the marks and bruises on her legs, which would otherwise be exposed if she wore her usual pink skirt. She applied the same tactic to her torso, pulling on a grey undershirt and slipping herself into a faded blue CHS hoodie that she got during her first year at Canterlot High.

Looking at herself in the mirror to make absolutely sure that she was completely concealed from any prying eyes, she nodded her head in satisfaction, hoping that nothing out of the ordinary would make itself known to her friends when she gets to school. That was the last thing she wanted.

However, the things that one doesn't want to happen has a way of making itself a reality.

*** *** ***

After walking out of her home, thankfully going unnoticed by her father, Pinkie Pie walked with her hood up to conceal her face from view. On her shoulder, she carried with her her pink rucksack, a strap slung over her shoulder while the other dangled freely by her side.

She didn't want anyone to notice how tired and drowsy she looked, and she knew how bad she looked from this morning's first view in the bathroom mirror. Simply stepping outside of the house for the first time in almost a week made her feel uncomfortable, something that the old Pinkie would have no problem in doing. It felt like her heart was doing cartwheels in her chest, getting worse with each step towards CHS.

Pinkie didn't even know why she was going to school. What was she hoping to gain? A supportive shoulder to cry on? An open ear? Anything? She was already starting to think that this was a stupid idea, and since she first got out of bed, she has done. Right now, she thought she was being ridiculous. What difference would anything make at this point in time?

When she arrived at school, students were constantly flipping open doors and entering with their bags and other personal items, and Pinkie pulled down the hood over her head even more to keep her identity safe from anyone walking by.

Now and again, students walked by her, and she could only see their shoes on the pavement as they made their way around and past her. She couldn't see much else than that, but she could hear their voices. Some people were on phones and chatting to someone on the other end of the line while others were simply making small-talk as they walked side-by-side.

At one point, on her way around to the back of the school to where the bleachers were, the place where Pinkie and her friends would always hang out before school was in session, Pinkie could have sworn that she heard one of the three Crusaders passing by. Scootaloo, judging from the sound of miniature plastic wheels grinding against the pavement. There was no mistaking that girl's raspy voice.

''I can't wait for football practice tonight!'' She had said, her voice ecstatic with lively energy. Although, who she was talking to, Pinkie had no idea. She couldn't risk raising her head to get a clear view. ''Rainbow Dash is going to love my new moves! I hope she thinks I'm good enough to make it in the team tryouts and---'' She was out of earshot.

Standing around the corner just before the bleachers, Pinkie Pie stopped for a moment so that she could angle her head just around the corner to view the playing field. Sure enough, when her eyes wandered over to where the bleachers were situated, she saw none other than her friends sat together in the middle of a conversation.

She spotted Rainbow Dash playing a game of football with Applejack in the middle of the field, Applejack fighting valiantly to snatch up the black and white football out from beneath Dash's feet. She tried for a few moment before Dash went travelling up with the ball to Applejack's goal, whereupon she went in for the kill and gave it an almighty blow, shooting it directly into the goal before cheering. Applejack's face was a picture. Playing football with Dash was Pinkie's thing, but ever since she stopped coming to school that day, it would seem that Applejack had opted to fill in her role.

Pinkie spotted the back of Sunset's two-tone red and yellow hair and Twilight's purple and pink hair, the two of them chatting away and unaware of Pinkie's presence. Fluttershy was sat with Rarity at the bottom of the bleachers tending to each other's nails, touching up their nail polish and applying mascara. To this day, it bewildered Pinkie as to why two girls such as Rarity and Fluttershy would even feel the need to wear makeup. She thought that they were both rather beautiful without it, and when they didn't have it, they still gained the attention of one or two gentlemen.

''A lady must always make herself look presentable, dear,'' Rarity had told her once in that sing-song voice of hers. If anything, Rarity was the prettiest girl in the entire school. She had the looks, the perfect sense of etiquette, class and an eye for fashion. She was even a phenominal seamstress! Pinkie even told her so on numerous occasions, to which Rarity would be so politely modest about, but it would only reinforce Pinkie's point on her being so perfect.

In her throat, a lump of ice had formed, and in her stomach, a knot had tied itself into a pretzel. All of a sudden, Pinkie felt like she wanted to vomit her guts out. She felt like she was on the verge of keeling over to the side and ceasing to live. She wanted to turn around and run back home and lock herself in her bedroom before diving back underneath her thick, plushy cushions and vast collection of stuffed animals. She didn't want to be here anymore, and she regretted having stepped out of the front door this morning.

She could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate and her lungs began to feel tight, almost like a ghost was reaching into her lungs through her chest and giving them a long, hard squeeze.

Breathe, Pinkie, breathe! She told herself. Just...breathe.

And she did. She breathed slowly through her mouth and exhaled through her nose, finding herself to calm down within mere moments. Her chest ached furiously from the contractions, causing her bruises to flare up in bursts of sharp, teeth-clenching pain below her ribs. She felt the pain bring tears to her eyes, but she managed to hold them back.

Swallowing a hard and shaky breath, Pinkie gave a deep sigh, ignoring the pain it brought with it, and decided to continue on her way towards the bleachers where her friends were waiting for her.

Pinkie said nothing as she slowly walked her way into the playing field, coming up beside the bleachers, now in plain sight of Rarity and Fluttershy. The two of them looked up from touching up their makeup to view her. This time, Pinkie raised her head so that she could view them fully.

''Yes, darling?'' Rarity began, looking up at Pinkie's concealed face with curiosity, apparently not recognising her. ''Can I help you with---'' She paused for a moment before she raised herself from her seat, a finger pointed towards Pinkie as she mumbled something to herself, slowly coming to realise who she was talking to. ''P-Pinkie!'' She said with a surprised gasp. ''Pinkie, my dear! You're here!''

Rarity got up fully and came over to embrace Pinkie, her face one of joy, but as she put her arms around Pinkie, she felt Pinkie's body tense and she heard her give a struggled groan. Upon hearing her groan like that, Rarity pulled away immediately and her face took on a hint of concern.

''Is...something the matter, darling?'' She asked, looking at the hood containing Pinkie's hair and face. ''And why are you wearing a hood?'' Rarity reached up and tried to take down the hood with a hand, but Pinkie backed away shyly.

''Don't, Rarity,'' Pinkie said quietly as she shied away from her elegant, white fingers. She didn't want her to see her sad eyes and pale face. She knew it would only make them feel worried about her.

''Why ever not, Pinkie?'' Rarity asked concernedly. ''Is everything alright, darling?''

''N-No,'' Pinkie said, but her voice wasn't audible.

''Pinkie,'' Fluttershy said, looking up from her seat on the bleachers to face her. Her turquoise eyes looked equally as concerned as Rarity's. ''Is everything alright? You've hardly spoken to us for almost a week,'' She said.

Pinkie looked over to view her, and as she looked into Fluttershy's eyes, she noticed how sad that she truly looked. She expected that Fluttershy would be the more concerned one of the bunch. It was in her caring nature to worry about her friends more than anyone else. It was a sweet and warmth-bringing quality that she had about her, and it made Pinkie's heart melt like warm butter on the inside.

From her shoulder, Pinkie dropped her rucksack and let it fall to the ground beside her white trainers with pink flicks on the side and two blue balloons with a single yellow balloon at the heel. Slowly, she raised up her hands and pulled back the hood on the hoodie she was wearing. Almost as soon as she did, not just Rarity and Fluttershy, but Twilight and Sunset, gave a gasp simultaneously upon seeing Pinkie's face and hair.

The first time that they've seen her face in a week and that was their response? She must have looked a whole lot worse that she previously thought.

''Pinkie, what happened to you?'' Sunset asked as she came down from the bleachers to stand beside her. ''You look terrible!'' She said, noticing the blue-grey bags that tinted the underside of her eyes.

''I-I don't want to ta-talk about it,'' Pinkie said slowly, knowing where this was heading, and it only made her feel worse. All the while, she fought against the urge to run away and hide.

''It's alright, darling,'' Rarity said reassuringly. ''If something's bothering you or if you want to talk about something, you don't have to be afraid.''

''Yeah, Pinkie, we've not seen you in almost a week and you look like hell!'' Sunset said, only to receive a disapproving scowl from Rarity for her comment. She flinched and blushed in embarrassment. ''Oh, sorry...''

''Quite,'' Rarity said, batting Sunset's shoulder with the back of her hand.

''Look, we've all been worried about you, Pinkie Pie,'' Twilight began, pushing up her black-rim glasses on her button nose. ''It's okay if you don't want to tell us, but it's obvious that something's been going on with you,'' She said, motioning with a hand towards her crestfallen face.

Pinkie didn't say anything to Twilight, nor the rest of them. She didn't want anybody to worry about her, but she knew that they were going to. She knew that, in the end, she was going to have to come clean about what's been going on at home and why she looks so terrible. At this point, a corpse in a casket probably looked more presentable than Pinkie did.

''Hey, Pinkie!'' A voice shouted from behind her. She knew it was Rainbow Dash before she turned around, and as soon as she did, Rainbow's body came hurtling into her like a rainbow-coloured cannon ball. Rainbow's arms gripped around Pinkie's back as she pulled her in for a tight hug, unaware of the bruises she was pushing her body against, causing Pinkie to squirm and cry out in pain.

It hurt worse this time. Not just the pain in her ribs flared up, but the one in her arm and stomach did, too. It hurt so bad that it felt like someone had stabbed her in the gut with a salt-laced pitchfork and then lit her on fire. From between her lips, something between a yelp and a scream cried out, causing Rainbow Dash to let go of her in an instant. She looked at Pinkie with mild concern and hoped that she hadn't unintentionally done something to upset her.

''Pinkie?'' Rainbow asked worriedly as Pinkie huddled back, seething in pain from her sore bruises. Pinkie continued to groan as she clutched her stomach tightly, but just loose enough that she didn't cause the pain to fire up a second time. Pinkie's face was so taught with pain that Rainbow half-expected her facial muscles to tear themselves apart.

After a few moments of clutching her stomach area, Pinkie began move away from the bleachers and start to make her way out of the playing fields, leaving her friends behind with astonished expressions.

Pinkie stopped for the briefest of moments just at the open gate that posed as the entrance to the playing field, her head half-turned to face back towards Rainbow Dash and the others. Rainbow couldn't have been certain, but she was sure that she saw what she thought looked to be a tear forming at the corner of Pinkie's eye. Pinkie Pie never cried. At least, in the entire time that she's known her, Rainbow Dash has never seen her cry or act miserable. Today, she saw just that, and it was both scary and heartbreaking.

Nobody said a word as Pinkie once again threw up her hood and pulled it over her face. She didn't speak another word as she took her leave. Applejack turned to face Rainbow Dash with concern etched clearly in her emerald eyes, and it matched everyone else's expressions.

''Pinkie, wait!'' Applejack called out, breaking off into a run in the hopes of reaching her in time before she could leave. She ran up towards the exit of the playing field and disappeared from view around the corner. Applejack didn't come back for a little over a minute, her face sunken and disappointed. ''She's gone,'' She said deflatedly. ''Now, what do you suppose all that was about?'' She asked, looking towards Sunset.

''Beats me,'' Sunset said helplessly.

''I don't know,'' Fluttershy said, shaking her head.

Twilight only shook her head.

''W-Was it me?'' Rainbow asked quietly, looking up from her feet to look into Applejack's eyes. ''Did she leave because of me?'' Applejack's face grew sympathetic.

''No, of course not,'' She said. ''Didn't you see that girl's face? She clearly wasn't herself, Dash. That was not Pinkie Pie,'' She said.

''But what if it was me?'' Rainbow asked. ''She screamed when I hugged her! It must have been me!'' Rainbow persisted, knowing that something was very out of the ordinary.

''She did that with me, too,'' Rarity said, feeling thoughtful on the subject matter. Not in the time she's known Pinkie has she been the one to wear a hoodie and jeans. It just wasn't her style. Pinkie never wore a hoodie or a pair of jeans, it wasn't really what her taste goes for. Almost every single day for over a year, Pinkie has always worn the same ensemble of a skirt and a shirt with a blue cardigan, and Rarity would know because she's the one who outfitted Pinkie with the clothes! ''Do you suppose there's a reason behind it? Not wanting to be seen, I mean?'' Rarity suggested.

''I'm not sure,'' Sunset said. ''She's skipped school for nearly an entire week, she's hardly spoken to any of us when something's obviously wrong with her, and now she turns up wearing a hoodie and she doesn't like to be touched,'' Sunset listed, counting the issues off with her fingers. ''I think that Applejack's right. That definitely isn't Pinkie Pie, and there's got to be a reason behind her showing up in a hoodie and leaving like that,'' Sunset said.

Next, her eyes drifted down to spot the pink rucksack which Pinkie had brought with her. ''Wait, isn't that her rucksack?'' She asked, pointing to it.

There was no mistaking the pink rucksack. It was actually hand-stitched by Rarity, and it even had the three balloons sewn into it on the little pocket at the bottom. As a matter of fact, Rarity was the one that designed and made each of her friend's rucksacks. It wasn't hard to know that the rucksack was Pinkie's. It was tailored to her personality.

''Oh, she must have forgotten about it,'' Rainbow Dash said, leaning down to pick it up. She turned it around and looked at the three balloons sewn into the little pocket, the zip only slightly away from being closed fully. From the weight of the bag, Rainbow deduced that it had nothing in it aside from maybe a couple of books and a pencil case. A little unusual for Pinkie Pie. ''I'll go and return it after school's out. Maybe she might be calm enough by then to talk to me,'' Rainbow said. Her friends nodded.

''Well, just go easy on her, Dash,'' Applejack said, her tone slightly warning, knowing how Dash can be at times. ''You saw how she acted. Who know's what's happenin' in that girl's head? I hope she's okay.''

''I do, too, Applejack,'' Rainbow said, looking up from the rucksack to face Applejack. ''So do I.''

*** *** ***

Rainbow Dash walked along the cold pathway with her own rucksack slung around both shoulders on her back, the pink rucksack belonging to Pinkie Pie hanging by her leg in her hand, the straps only just narrowly avoiding scraping the pavement below.

She had left school a little later than usual, so it was already starting to get dark. She had to come up with some excuse to get out of training for the football team, and, as a captain, she had the final say, so she rescheduled the training session for tomorrow. Right now, there was a more important matter at hand, and she didn't really feel like training her team for the big game at the end of the season, anyhow. She was far too worried about her friend to concern herself about such things. She wouldn't be a very good representative of the Element of Loyalty if she left one of her best friends hanging, would she?

Walking along, Rainbow glanced up for a moment to view the sky, watching the evening blue-gray slowly become invaded by the black of the upcoming night, transforming it into a navy blue shade. There was also a gathering of puffy dark grey clouds making themselves known, so Rainbow guessed that the rain was going to be following sooner or later.

It can't rain all the time, Rainbow Dash thought to herself.

She liked the rain. Rainbow would sometimes sit and watch it during late nights whenever she's unable to get to sleep. She usually sat on her windowsill and watched it until it came to an end, and by that time, she would likely be asleep. When it rained and she's laying beneath her covers, she found that it lulled her to sleep like the song of an angel singing in the sky.

In her pocket, her hand was inserted to block out the cold. The insulating fibers of her black, rainbow-streaked joggers were perfect at keeping her body warm, and it was a good thing, too, seeing as the wind was starting to pick up a little bit. Inside her pocket, her hand was wrapped loosely around her smartphone, and she had thought about texting Pinkie to tell her that she was coming to return her rucksack to her after school, but decided against it. She felt guilty for making Pinkie leave early.

The entire incident had been playing on a loop in her mind for the entire day, so much so that it was like a mantra. When she was sat in the middle of a lesson in the middle of a worksheet or trying to work out a mathematics problem, the image of Pinkie's pained and contorted face of agony kept replaying itself. At one point, Miss Cheerilee had noticed her distraught expression and asked her if everything was alright. Of course, Dash waved a hand and faked a smile, insisting that everything was fine, although, she didn't think that Miss Cheerilee really believed her, but she left her be, anyway.

She couldn't understand what had happened. Pinkie Pie never rejected a hug or a friendly embrace, and the way she screamed when Dash hugged her for what felt like the first time in forever haunted her. Rarity had told Dash that Pinkie reacted the same way when she hugged her upon her arrival. It got her thinking about that hoodie. All of her friends owned one, including herself, but she can't recall a time when she had seen Pinkie wearing it until today.

The area that Pinkie's family lived in was near to where Rainbow's own home was located. It was only a couple of blocks away, so she hadn't got far to go in order to return home after running this little errand. All of the homes were all fully detached housing accommodations that ran in straight lines on either side of the road, about twelve or so per side. From previous visits, Rainbow walked along the left side, where her friend's house was.

It may not have been an impressive residence, but it was still a nice home to look at. Pinkie's home was brightly painted in a pale blue colour, matching that of a frosted sky in the middle of winter. It appeared to have some fresh maintenance work done to it, too. The shutters appeared to be brand new and they were painted in a brilliant white, like wooden clouds against the blue paint. The front porch was consistent of white floorboards, too.

Slowly, Rainbow worked her way up the porch and stopped in front of the front door, and she noticed that the house number (thirty-five) had the same three balloons that Pinkie had on her skirt beneath them. She stood there for a few moments in the silent neighbourhood and listened for a few seconds, tuning her ear in to see if she could hear anyone on the other side of the door. She could not, and so, she reached up a hand and knocked three times against the wooden body of the door.

After a minute had passed and she received no answer, she knocked again. Still no answer.

Thinking, Rainbow felt for her phone in her pocket, and upon pulling it out, she thought about texting Pinkie to see if she were home. She sent her a text and continued to wait for a response. Again, she recieved no answer from her phone. She was starting to get worried now. Pinkie always answered her phone whenever one of her friends called her. If she didn't, then it was a clear indication that something was very wrong, and it made shivers crawl and sliver up Dash's spine.

Trying one last time, Rainbow Dash began to search through her contacts list for Pinkie's name, and when she found it, she clicked call. Putting it to her ear, she let the phone ring, and she heard it ring five times before, much to her relief, Pinkie picked up.

''Pinkie!'' Rainbow Dash said with a sigh of relief, glad she answered. ''Where are you? I've come to return your rucksack. You left it back in the playing field!'' On the other end, she heard Pinkie breathing, but she didn't speak for a couple of moments. Her breathing sounded slow and raspy, like she had been running.

''Rainbow! Rainbow, please, I need help!'' Pinkie Pie's voice said in a panic, and Dash could have sworn that she heard shouting on the other side of the line, along with what sounded like crying. ''Rainbow, please! He's going to kill me!'' She said quickly, and her words made Dash's gut tense up.

''What? Who's trying to kill you? Pinkie, what's going on? Where are you?'' Dash asked, feeling the worry creep its way into her voice upon asking, slowly turning into fear.

''I'm inside my bedroom! Please, hurry! He's going to kill me!'' Pinkie's voice wailed, and she sounded like she was hyperventilating, ready to go into cardiac arrest. Rainbow Dash's heart began to sink when she heard the banging in the background become louder, the sound of wood splintering becoming audible before there was a final loud crash and Pinkie Pie screamed in horror. That was when the line went dead.

''Pinkie!'' Dash shrieked, dropping her friend's rucksack along with her own and ditching them off to the side, right before she tried the door to the home. Of course, it was locked, and Dash cussed beneath her breath before she tried to barge it open with her shoulder, slamming herself against it in a fruitless effort.

Rainbow's shoulder began to hurt from the resistance of the door, and she gave it a rub as she swore under her breath. She tried to think fast, her head darting every-which way for an entry point, an open window, anything! Spotting a window on the porch, located next to a wicker deck chair, Rainbow scrambled towards it, only able to imagine what horrible terror was on the other side.

Rainbow Dash's fingers gripped tightly against the underside of the window, trying to lift it, but she found it to be stiff and unwilling to budge. She gritted her teeth and she forced it even harder, pushing all of her might into it in an effort to push the window upwards. After a few moments of struggling, her cheeks flustered and cherry-coloured from the strain, her chest aching, Rainbow Dash, much to her relief, managed to pry open the window.

Pushing the stiff window all the way up with a loud, groaning creak, Rainbow had just enough room to push her body through the opening. She pulled her legs in first and proceeded to duck her head under the window before swinging her entire body in. She struggled a little bit and ended up losing her footing, causing her to topple over to the side and land on her face in a heap in what was the living room of the Pie residence.

She cussed to herself again and lifted her head, rubbing her cheek. She could taste the bitter and iron-like taste of blood in her mouth, but she was too caught up in her mission to care about it. She forced herself back onto her feet, ignoring the pain running through the side of her jaw and hip where she landed, looking around the residence for Pinkie Pie.

The living room was generously decorated and the walls were coated in licks of delicate and vibrant paint. To the right, there was a small fireplace surrounded by a mahogany mantlepiece. On top of the mantlepiece, there were pictures of the family running all along it, and the wall behind it was painted in a brighter blue than the outside of the house, decorated with hand-painted clouds and rainbows - The handiwork of Pinkie's mother.

At the very back of the room, there was an open kitchen that had some pricey-looking appliances and a double-decker oven grille installed next to a stainless-steel dishwasher. To this day, it surprised and amazed Rainbow Dash how Pinkie's parents could afford such things, with her father being a business man and her mother being a prolific painter and artist, but it also made her a little jealous. She also had a feeling that Pinkie was the main user of the oven on a daily routine for when she was baking, which was basically every single day of the week. That girl can work like she's been possessed by the Cake Fairy.

Rainbow could hear a mix of screaming and shouting drifting through the air, and it sounded like it was coming from down the hallway. There was no mistaking that the screaming was Pinkie Pie and the shouting was her father, but there was no sign or trace of her mother anywhere.

Breaking into a run, Dash hurriedly ran towards the corridor and followed the noise of the screaming to where she found an open doorway, the frame surrounding it splintered and broken open, looking like it had exploded. There was an array of splinters from the frame and white paint belonging to the door scattered all over the wooden flooring of the corridor.

Screaming, crying and shouting filled the air along with the sounds of begging for the beatings to stop, and Dash felt sick to her stomach when she heard what sounded like kicking a large boot into a pulp of meat, which was undoubtedly her friend. She wasted no time in heading towards the doorway and coming to Pinkie's aid.

She froze when she entered slightly passed the doorway, stopping at the sigh before her with an expression of pure and utter horror mixed in with terror. Pinkie Pie was laying on the ground with her arms and hands planted across her bloodied face while her father was standing over her, repeatedly kicking his large foot into his daughter's chest while shouting obscenities.

Her father was a tall and strong-looking man in his mid-forties. He wore a white business shirt that was tucked into his black slacks, but in the middle of his violent act, the neatly-tucked shirt had half come out of his slacks and dangled loosely by his side. His hair was greying and thinning around his round head, and he didn't seem to notice Rainbow Dash at first.

The entire bedroom was in a wide disarray and it was in ruins. Directly in front of the now-smashed-open doorway, a large glass tank belonging to Pinkie's pet alligator, Gummy, was smashed open at the side facing the door, the piece of wooden shrapnel that broke it stuck inside the tank. Gummy was on the other end, looking spooked and frightened. He stood there, staring at Rainbow with wide purple eyes, as if pleading for her to help Pinkie before her father kills her.

Rainbow panicked a little when she couldn't find anything to strike Pinkie's father with. She looked up and down and left and right for literally anything blunt or sharp, anything to stop her friend getting brutally and savagely beaten. In the end, her eyes landed back onto the glass tank that Gummy was still inside of.

Here goes nothing! Rainbow Dash thought, moving forward and gritting her teeth as she reached out a hand into the tank to grab a large piece of the broken reinforced glass. The end of the shard was pointed and incredibly sharp, easily capable of bringing about large amounts of pain with little to no effort.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip at knowing what she was going to do with the glass shard in her hand. She looked down at the floor towards the sobbing pink mess of Pinkie and then at her father's back, sighing inwardly before she charged up to him, rage fueling her eyes before she brought up the glass shard and then brought it down. The tip of the large glass shard cut straight through Pinkie's father's white shirt like a hot knife through butter and then embedded itself straight through his shoulder, piercing his muscle tissue and causing his flesh to tear with ease.

Her father roared in absolute, burning agony, screaming out loud at the top of his large lungs, one of his bear paw-like hands grabbing around to feel around where he had been stabbed by Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash even felt some of the blood from the wound she had created flick onto her face as the glass shard has sliced into his shoulder, and while she was glad that he had stopped striking Pinkie Pie, she felt sick to her stomach at what she had done. The blood started to flow immediately after the glass had entered his body, and he turned to face Rainbow Dash, a strong, raging anger burning behind his amber eyes. He looked as though he could commit murder, and Dash knew right away that she had to get out of there before he could make a move.

''Get back here, you little harlot!'' He roared as Dash fled the room, heading back down the corridor towards the living room, and she could hear his large and heavy footsteps follow suit of her.

Rainbow Dash hurried as fast as her legs could carry her and she made her way straight into the open kitchen, thinking fast. If there was one place she could find a weapon or object to defend herself, it would be in the kitchen. Once she reached the kitchen area of the home, she yanked open one of the kitchen drawers, causing the silverware inside to clatter and jingle.

Dash's hands feverishly rifled through the drawer to find a sharp object, such as a carving knife, to defend herself before Pinkie's father came charging through the room like a bull in a china shop. She pulled open drawer after drawer in the hopes of finding a knife, and her face lit up when she pulled open a third draw and found a number of large, incredibly sharp carving knives. However, Dash barely had the chance to grab one before Pinkie's father had reached her.

He had a face like a madman, his lips twisted into a sadistic grin that made Rainbow's hairs stand on end and a cold sliver creep up and down her spine. He was standing a short distance away from her, boxing her into the built-in kitchen unit like a wild animal surrounded by hunters. She had no idea what he was going to do to her, but she had an idea that it was going to be far worse than what he did to his daughter.

He looked dead into Dash's now-small magenta eyes, and it was as if he could smell her fear. He knew that he had her cornered, and if he chose to pounce on top of her, that would be it for her. She could be dead, and the thought of her life possibly being cut short within mere moments from this point in time put the fear of god into her.

''You're in for it now, you little bitch,'' Pinkie's father said in a low, deep voice. He was hunched forward slightly with his thick arms and large hands stretched outwards, and his fingers were so large that it looked as if he could snap Rainbow like a twig between them. All he had to do was move in and grab her and it would all be over.

They both stared each other down like a couple of Wild West cowboys caught in the middle of a dual, one just waiting for the other to take the first shot. Rainbow's eyes glances back and forth between his wild and burning eyes and the knives in the drawer. She made mental calculations on her timing if she were to execute her getaway perfectly without getting grabbed.

Her back was pressed up against the black marble counter as she faced him, and the long she took to make her move, he was making his own. Every few seconds that passed, he took a small step forward, closing in on her, and it was obvious from the sadistic gleam in his eye that he was thoroughly enjoying this. He was savouring every moment.

In the end, after steeling her nerves and mustering up the courage to make her move, Dash snapped to her right, heading for the knife drawer in a swift, agile movement. At the same time, Pinkie's father made a lunge towards her, and after she had grabbed the knife, Dash twisted herself around in a snap and darted for the serving counter at the other side of the small kitchen.

During her daring maneuver, she felt the air from his fingers barely brush past her leg, and she knew how close she came to being faltered in her plan. She didn't want to know what he was going to do to her, and as she made her get away, she flexed herself with the flexibility of a ninja and vaulted herself over the serving counter, her foot colliding sharply with Pinkie's father's jaw in the process.

He groaned and gave a snarl like a rabid animal, shifting his large body around the kitchen and to the other side where Dash had escaped to. He made a charge towards her, and Dash ran towards the locked front door. As she ran, Pinkie's father directly behind her, Dash grabbed whatever she could and tossed it at him, hoping to slow him down.

From the mantlepiece over the fireplace, Dash grabbed a hold of a heavy brass-based clock, the main body of it surrounded by spherical glass. She lobbed it over her shoulder like a grenade, and it struck Pinkie's father directly in his face. The glass shattered and the brass part dropped to the floor like a rock, landing on his foot.

He groaned in pain, but he didn't stop moving for Dash. From the glass that had broken on his face, it had cut him all over his jaw and cheeks. There was even a small cut that narrowly missed his left eyeball, cutting him just above his temple. His strong, muscular face and chiseled cheeks were now dripping and oozing with thick, red blood. The more bloody and hurt he got, the more enraged he became.

He pounced towards Rainbow Dash, and as he did, Dash held out the knife in a tight grip, her eyes locked onto him like a hawk. She made a move and slashed at his arm, cutting him deep down his right forearm, the blade circling from his elbow up to his wrist, wrapping around his arm like a red ribbon.

Once again, he screamed and moved for Dash again, only this time, he managed to strike her with his large fist in her side. Rainbow was knocked clean off of her feet and thrown into the floor a short distance in front of the front door of the house. She gave a loud yelp and held her left rib after she had hit the floor with such force that she felt the ground shake beneath her.

It didn't feel as if he had broken her ribs, but rather severely bruised them. Without a doubt, she was going to have quite a nasty bruise in the nexy day or so, if she lived that long. She clenched her eyes and sucked in air through her teeth, the pain ringing through her small frame like a million stilettos stabbing her from all angles.

Across from her, the large knife that she had been holding was now severely out of her reach, leaving her defenseless and completely open to a brutal attack, and this made Pinkie's father laugh a deep and ground-vibrating cackle. By this point in the game, he knew that he had already won. Now all he had to do was bag his prize.

''You're mine, now, little girl,'' He said with a sinister grin as he stood over her. From her position on the floor, he looked more like a human skyscraper. He really was a titanic mass of a man, and Dash could have sworn that she smelled what was unmistakably alcohol surrounding his being. It followed him like a foul plague, and it made her gag a little. Not only that, but she could also smell the bitter cigarette ash and spice-like aroma of old tobacco that had absorbed into his shirt fibers over a long period of time. It truly was beyond pungent and downright heinous.

''You'll never get away with this, you bastard!'' Rainbow Dash said, narrowing her eyes at him and ignoring the pain shooting through her body. She was surprised by how loud her voice was, and it hurt her throat a little. Her remark only seemed to amuse him.

''But I already have,'' He said, kneeling down slightly, his bodily movements shaky from the amount of pain that he was in. By now, there was a flow of blood pouring down his arm and the glass shard in his back was still sticking out over his shoulder, the blood staining his shirt visible down his side. ''I'm going to enjoy killing both of you little spoiled brats. That whore daughter of mine has been nothing but a disappointment,'' He said with a venomous bite to his tone.

''Don't you dare call her that! Don't you ever call Pinkie Pie that, you old bastard!'' Rainbow Dash snarled back at him, spitting, her face glowing like a furnace in a forgery. The fact that a father could call one of his own children a whore or anything discriminating disgusted and enraged Rainbow Dash something fierce. She wouldn't ever had expected those words to come out of Pinkie Pie's father's mouth.

Pinkie's father said nothing as he stared down at Dash with amusement. He held his grin and only laughed to himself, enjoying the pain written on Dash's face like a fine-chiseled piece of roman architecture. He was loving this beyond words.

He moved off for a moment and walked towards the knife that Dash had been holding earlier. He slowly bent down to grasp it up from the floor, and as she watched him, the pieces slowly fell into place in Dash's mind for what he was planning to do. He turned back to face her, knife in hand, and he walked back over towards Rainbow, the tip of the blade reflecting with a gleaming light. She could see her own, scared face staring back at her on the metal.

Pinkie's father gave her a grin as he saw Rainbow's face contort into one of horror, knowing what was about to happen. He was going to have her and he was going to murder her right here in the middle of the living room of his own home. Her best friend's father was going to be her killer and his own daughter's killer.

As Pinkie Pie's father raised the knife in the air, ready to thrust it down and stick the blade through Rainbow Dash's chest, Rainbow tensed up and snapped her eyes shut, preparing for the inevitable to take place. She wondered if it would hurt or if she would feel it at all. She wondered if she would scream or cry out and how fast it would take to die. Would it be like falling asleep in a warm bed, or would it be as painful as being burned at the stake?

She bit her lip and she quivered, her life flashing before her very eyes as she prepared to live her final moment on planet Earth. A stream of tears began to burn beneath her closed eyelids and she felt one of them break free, a burning marble of heat that rolled down her cold and clammy cheek.

''I'm sorry, Pinkie,'' Rainbow Dash whispered beneath her breath, knowing that she had failed to protect one of her closest and best friends from a life of pain and misery. She wasn't fast enough and she wasn't strong enough, and now she was going to pay the debt with her life.

Dash waited for a few moments for Pinkie's father to thrust the knife down, but instead, she heard what sounded like a vase or some other piece of pottery shattering, followed by a loud groan and a dull thud. Confused, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, her body still shivering, and looked up to view the most unexpected sight.

There, standing over the fallen body of her now-unconscious father, was a bloody-faced and bruised Pinkie Pie. The hoodie that she had turned up to school in was now stained with trails and splatterings of blood and there was also a small trail of blood slithering down the side of her lips, dribbling down her chin. She looked like she was on the brink of collapsing, her light flickering and ready to burn out at any given moment.

Rainbow Dash felt shocked and relieved at the same time as she stared up into the quivering and cold-looking figure of Pinkie Pie. Her entire body shook with each shallow, shaky breath she took as she stared expressionlessly at the body of her father.

When Rainbow looked to where her father was laying, she saw that there was the shattered remains of a lamp scattered on the floor around his being, the lamp shade rolled off to the other side of the room. On the back of his head, there was a medium-sized wound that was leaking blood, pooling onto the wooden floorboards. He wasn't dead, as evidenced by his slow breathing, but he wasn't going to be walking around anytime soon.

Pinkie Pie's head slowly turned to face Rainbow Dash, her eyes dim and almost grey. She looked like a ghostly version of her usual self. It frightened and worried Dash for how terrible she looked. It amazed her that she could even stand, judging from the unstable nature of her breathing and fragile-looking frame.

''P-Pin-Pinkie!'' Dash breathed, sucking in a breath as she ignored the white hot pain in her left side below her ribs. She groaned and bit her lip as she suppressed the need to scream in agony as she pulled herself shakily onto her feet. With some effort, she stabilised herself on her feet and held one of her hands to her side to support her injured area.

Rainbow slowly walked towards Pinkie with concern in her eyes, and she could see it in Pinkie's eyes, too. The icy blue of her friend's eyes looked down to where Dash had been injured, and her worry rised, but it was Dash who was the more concerned one. There was no telling exactly how badly Pinkie had been injured or how badly she was bleeding, both inside and out.

Pinkie's eyes were glassy and pale, almost lifeless. Rainbow Dash reached around an arm and wrapped it carefully around Pinkie's waist as she pulled her in for a hug, this time, being more aware of what happened the last time. However, Pinkie didn't move away or resist, but rather accept it.

Her pale lips trembled and Dash held onto her gently, giving her a supportive hug and allowing Pinkie to cry into her shoulder. The entire while, Dash patted her back and kept shushing her in soothing tones in order to calm her down, and she did.

Pinkie was as cold as ice against Dash's skin and it caused her severe alarm. Neither of the two friends spoke a single word as they held each other, and Pinkie's hands lightly grasped the back of Dash's blue hoodie with yellow stripes running down her arms. She whimpered and cried from the pain that she was feeling course through her body, and being in Dash's friendly embrace helped her to ignore the pain.

''H-H-He was g-going to k-kill m-me,'' She whimpered between broken and shaky breaths. ''D-Daddy,'' She said quietly, her voice almost inaudible to Dash's ears, but when she heard her say those last words, it broke her heart.

''It's alright, Pinkie,'' Dash said soothingly. ''You're safe now,'' She said. Pinkie cried harder into her shoulder, and she felt as flimsy as a twig in Dash's arms. ''It's going to be alright, Pinkie, don't worry,'' Rainbow Dash said, and she continued to shush her.

*** *** ***

Hours following the incident with Pinkie Pie's father and the abuse of Pinkie and her mother, the police had run a thorough and long investigation into the cause of the whole dilemma. Pinkie had been taken to the hospital along with Rainbow Dash to be treated for their injuries.

As it turned out, Pinkie was diagnosed with multiple bruises and other various wounds by the likes doctors had never seen in a domestic disturbance case. The doctor had found out that she had multiple internal injuries and a couple fractured ribs from the beatings she had received. She had been told that she's lucky to be alive.

Not long after being admitted to the hospital, Pinkie Pie's mother came into the A and E ward upon hearing about what had happened. She was frantic and worried to death about the wellbeing of her little girl. She was able to see Pinkie after she had received surgery to fix her internal bleeding and fractured ribs, and so were her friends.

Luckily, Rainbow Dash walked away with bruised ribs and she was prescribed painkillers for her injuries. Like Pinkie, she wasn't going to be doing any straining exercise or training for a long while.

In her hospital room, all of her friends came to see Pinkie Pie a few hours after she had been in for surgery. Everyone was both shocked and surprised after hearing what had happened to her, and they wasted no time in heading on over to the hospital with a bundle of 'Get Well Soon!' cards and a couple of baskets of homemade cupcakes and cookies, courtesy of Applejack and her family. They were Pinkie Pie's favourite flavour: triple chocolate and mint with undertones of vanilla and cinnamon. It put a smile back on her face.

Of course, there was still a long road of recovery ahead for Pinkie to return back to her former self, but everyone knew that nothing would ever be the same for her every again. Sure, with their help, she could at least have the proper amount of moral support on her road to recovery, but it was unknown how deeply it had scarred her. For all anyone knew, Pinkie may never fully recover from the trauma that she had been put through.

Rainbow Dash, while visiting Pinkie in her hospital room while she was laid up in bed in her sickly green hospital gown, stayed behind after everyone had said their goodbye's. One by one, each of her friends wished them both a speedy and successful recovery before they left the hospital room and shut the door behind them, leaving Dash alone with Pinkie.

Rainbow Dash, with a support bandage wrapped around her chest area, sat down in a chair next to Pinkie's bed. She reached out a hand and placed it into Pinkie's, giving it a light and tender squeeze. She found that Pinkie felt rather warm again, and it made her smile to know that she was already doing better.

''How are you feeling, Pinkie?'' Dash asked, remembering what had happened the last time that she asked Pinkie that same question through a text.

In her bed, Pinkie's hair was still straight and dull-looking, but her face and skin had regained most of its colour, which was the first good sign on her road to recovery. She still had blue-ish-gray bags beneath her eyes and her eyes were still a little colourless, but the important thing was that she was still in one piece.

''A little better,'' She said with a weak but genuine smile. ''Thanks to you,'' She said, giving Dash's hand a little squeeze back.

''Hey, hey, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, either, Pinkie,'' Dash said, her eyes shimmering as she looked directly into Pinkie's eyes, a grateful smile gracing her lips. ''You saved my life, Pinkie,'' She said with gratitude. ''So, what's going to happen now? To your father, I mean?'' Dash asked, and Pinkie's face sank into a frown, clearly not optimistic about the subject.

''He's being transported to prison to await trial,'' She said in a hollow voice. ''With any luck, he'll hopefully be sentenced to life,'' Pinkie said, and it's the first time in her life that her own voice was laced with salt, a bitter and strong hatred that made Dash cringe in her seat. She winced a little as she did so, the bruise below her ribs giving her a twinge of pain.

''Well, he deserves whatever he gets, Pinkie Pie! That guy was a complete monster!'' Rainbow Dash said bitterly, sharing Pinkie's own hatred. ''You don't need to worry, Pinkie. If it comes down to it, I'll always back you up,'' Dash said proudly. Pinkie Pie smiled again and motioned for Rainbow to hug her, which she did.

Rainbow leaned over in her seat and allowed Pinkie to nuzzle her cheek into Dash's with great affection, just like she always used to whenever they hugged at school or whenever they hung out. She wouldn't openly admit it to anyone, but she thought that Pinkie's brand of hugging was the best she's ever had. She couldn't explain it, but it seemed as if every hug she offered came with a truckload of love and sugar, making her want to melt into it like a creamer in coffee or marshmallows in hot chocolate.

''Thanks, Dashie,'' Pinkie said lovingly, her voice returned to a weakened version of its usual sweet and chipper nature. Rainbow liked it whenever she used that name for her. She remembered the first time that Pinkie used that name on her when they first met in nursery. It always used to make her blush and feel embarrassed as they were growing up together, but it ended up growing on her to the point that she accepted it. It always gave her a case of the fuzzies. ''I love you,'' Pinkie said with a bright, sincere smile.

Rainbow Dash hugged her a little tighter and rubbed her back tenderly, feeling warm upon hearing those words. The two of them used to always say it to each other in a friendly, platonic way. They often exchanged those three words for giggles when they were on the phone, and it was an expression of their strong affection for each other that was no different than the sisterly love that Dash shared with Fluttershy, of whom she's known since forever.

Pinkie used to say it when she came around to Dash's parents' house when they had their little get-togethers, whether it be to simply hang out together or for when they watched films together during the evening. They would spend all night binge-watching films and taking turns picking the next one until the sun came up. Dash used to always let Pinkie pick first, and they shared the very same interest and love for action films. In the end, the two of them would usually end up falling asleep together on the couch, wrapped underneath the warmth and comfort of Pinkie's plush and candyfloss-scented snuggie that was dotted with sewn-on sweets.

''I love you, too, Pinkie,'' Dash said. ''There's nothing in this world that I wouldn't do for a friend like you.''